The desert wind howled, carrying with it the sting of fine grains that scraped across skin and armor alike. The air shimmered with heat, dunes rolling endlessly into the horizon under the pale, merciless sun. Yet amid that oppressive stillness, every single student suddenly paused.
On their wrists, the faint glow of their bracelets flickered to life—soft, pulsing like the beat of a heart. Then, across the expanse, a voice rose, resonant and commanding, carried not by wind but by mana, echoing inside their very beings.
His words lingered in the desert air long after they ended, echoing in the silence of countless hearts.
